Although Brighton and Marseille have both qualified for the next round of the Europa League, winning this match on Thursday will offer them the best opportunity to advance further in the competition.
In order to avoid the first round of the preliminary knockout round, the Seagulls must defeat Marseille in order to take the top spot. If they lose, the second-place club will play one of the eight third-place teams from the Champions League group stage.
Team updates
Roberto de Zerbi is still without players like Julio Enciso, Solly March, Pervis Estupinan, Adam Webster, Tariq Lamptey, Danny Welbeck, and Ansu Fati due to injury, and Brighton’s injury list is still quite long.
Only midfielder Valentin Rongier and winger Joaquin Correa have been ruled out for Marseille, who have few other fitness issues.
The figures
Twelve goals or more have been scored in Brighton’s competitive games this season, compared to four goals or more in Marseille’s five Europa League group games.
This tie’s reverse match in Marseille resulted in a 2-2 draw.
In four of Marseille’s five Europa League group stage games, both teams have scored, and in seven of Brighton’s most recent nine competitive games, both teams have scored.
Forecast
Marseille leads the Europa League group stages going into the sixth matchday, but Brighton has nothing to lose as they compete for the top slot at the Amex Stadium because they already secured second place.
Since the Seagulls need to win in order to take top spot in Group B, we can anticipate Roberto de Zerbi’s team attacking from the start, which normally results in a lot of goals when Brighton is involved.
In twelve of the 22 competitive games played by the hosts this season, there have been four goals or more, and in eighteen of those games, both teams have scored.
Marseille is also not a team that plays tight defence. Their thrilling 4-3 victory over Ajax in the previous round was marred by defensive blunders on both sides, and they have averaged 4.6 goals per game thus far in their five group stage games.
It’s best to back plenty of goals on Thursday as four of these, including the 2-2 tie with Brighton at the Stade Orange Velodrome on matchday two, have yielded at least four goals.
